Images

Lisa and I had an amazing weekend at the Planes of Fame Airshow this weekend.

Though it was on the hot side, the show was great. I can't say enough about those dedicated people who keep these treasures flying. This is no display only museum at Chino. If you love Warbirds, this is a must see.

This one was headed to the round file after a mid air.
It was brought to our field by a visiting glider pilot. I'd never seen one before and thought it was very cool and different. Even with its small size and weight it flew great and handled the wind very well.

Sadly he got into a mid air with his friend flying a wing and that was it for the bipe.
He was going to dispose of her and I offered to save him the trouble.
It was the ARF version but with a different tail set.

The fuse was not too bad suffering some damage to the nose area and where the cabanes were broken off. The top wing was sheared off which also broke most of the wing struts. The bottom wing was in a bag and in many bits as it was torn from its glue joint on the fuse. The mains were gone as well.

It looked like a challenge and an oportunity to practice and learn. I had just retired my GWS Zero so the electronics needed a new home. I was determined to only use what I had on hand.

The AUW was 14 oz and with the available 100 watts on hand this bird can be flown around at half throttle. The maiden went well but for the poorly desinged wheel mounting which had them crawl up the gear wire when taking off . The landing went well in spite of this with only a mild nose over. Subsequent flights have been fun even in wind. Hope for may more.

A GWS Pico Tiger Moth. I never would have thought it would be so much fun to fly something this slow. I can't take credit for the great paint job done to this one or the wing wires as this plane was a gift.

It flies with a Feigao in an 'A' gear IPS box and a 9 x 6 APC SF prop using either a TP 730 3S or a PQ 600 3S. Neither battery had been used for years so I am giving them some easy cycles. So far 13 minutes with the 730 pack is the longest flight at a cost of 480 mah.

It has been updated with a pilot & scarf, painted wing undersides with roundels, and DH hubcaps.

Images

I really am getting the nostalgia bug of late and loved the scale detail of the PLH Camel.
It made for a super launch point to go several steps further into making this bird look like the real thing.

I learned about many new aspects of rc flight in one project.
Among them were: Very scale flying, first bi plane, pull/pull, wing wires, and tail skid.
Luckily for me, there was limitless help in the build thread and review of this plane in RCG.

The two detail tricks that get the most interest are the way the APC prop looks so much like wood (brown Sharpie) and the application of Liquitex matt varnish using a sponge brush to the very shiny covering which creates simulated fabric. Both these were found here on RCG.

This plane is not an easy flyer by any means. It flies as scale as it looks complete with challenging take offs and landings to adverse yaw and drop like a brick glide. Seeing this bird in flight though and making a landing without nosing over or touching a wing tip makes it all worth it .

Images

Now with over a dozen flights on her time to include our second Spitfire.

The only scale touches thus far are details to the cowl, antenna mast, and some minor weathering. A retract wing is under construction .

This plane always gets compliments and looks so right on the runway or in the air. She is powered by an Endoplasma and 8 cell NiMH as was our first. Coming in at 58.5 oz AUW, I have been able to fly her in some very strong wind. Plenty of power and torque available with the geared 11 X 8.5 E prop working with 340 Watts. The speed in a diving pass is more than ample.

I flew in formation with a .40 glo Mustang and it was a sight to behold. Looked like something out of a movie. We finished our final pass staggered in scale with the Mustang doing a victory roll and the Spitfire going vertical for a 1/2 reverse Cuban. Too awesome!

Thanks to Mike for the great runway shots where he went right on the deck.

The Spitty is now redone with Scorpion brushless power using 3S2P lipo now
having 438 watts on tap and the AUW is down to 50 oz even with retracts added! What a transformation. She has really picked up some speed and performance with unlimited vertical. The retracts cleaned up the air frame and look great with the servo rate reducer.

A kind man with his elderly father brought a couple of planes to our club today just so they would have a home. He said they were his father's and he just wanted a home for them that they would be used.

I was the lucky one he asked and I snapped up this guy. An original Cox Cessna Centurion. Not sure how far I'll go with this, but electric conversion for sure and perhaps ailerons and steerable nose gear. Thinking BP 21, TB 18, 3S 1320.

A friend has another version of this with a plastic like coating that looks even more scale. His uses a 400 can motor dd and 2S lipo. It flies fantastic. Hope this will turn out half as good.

The first met its demise due to a failed elevator servo. Not the servos fault really. It had over 80 flights and I up graded the power as well as flew her a tad too crazy .

This one has all metal gear HS-81's and Z-bends both ends. Now over 100 flights and still going strong!

Power is from a Kyosho Endoplasma geared with 3.8 ratio box swinging an APC E 11 X 8.5 prop. Tuned to 340 Watts she is a great flyer even at over 55 oz AUW (est) using 20oz 8 cell NiMH packs. Soon I will try a couple of 3S2P TP PL set up taking nearly 10 oz off the AUW.

It was looks alone. This plane was a must have long before I could solo fly our trainer. She is our show plane .

The Zero is powered by a HL 400XT,T-Bird 18, 3S 1320 TP/PL.
I time the flights to 10-13 min and only use 850 mah max even with lots of full throttle fun . AUW 14.5 oz.

Our 109 uses an E-Flite 400 920kv, T-Bird 18, 3S 1320 TP/PL. This plane can be a handful compared to the Zero, but she goes! The rolls are so very scale and rudder authority is crazy. Landings will bite if brought in too slow. AUW is 15.3 oz.

The funny thing with the 109 is the harder I run the plane, the less mah I put back in the pack for a given flight time. Is the E-Flite that efficient?